Page Six
STATE
CAPITAL
NEWS
o Forester's Goat
o New Commission
o Martin "Plague"
By A. L. LINDBECK
Salem If Governor Sprague de
sires the political scalp of State For
ester J. W. Ferguson and it is pret
ty well understood that he does it
begins to look as though he would
have to first make a few changes in
the board of forestry. Ferguson, it
should be undersood, is an employee
of the forestry board. This board is
composed of nine members. The gov
ernor and the dean of the school of
forestry at Oregon State college are
ex-officio members of this board.
The other seven members are ap
pointed by the governor from lists
supplied by seven lumber and live
stock organizations. All seven serve
' at the pleasure of the governor.
Dean George W. Peavy of the OSC
forestry school is understood to yearn
for Ferguson's scalp just as greatly
as does Governor Sprague. The for
ester, however, is fairly popular with
the other seven members of the
board, or at least with enough of
them to retain his scalp for the time
being. While the governor would
like to get rid of Ferguson he hesi
tates to disturb the board in order
to gain this end but it would be not
at all surprising if the political fires
now being kindled under the forest
er do not bring the situation to a
head within the next few weeks.
Six hundred Oregon motorists
have had their operators' licenses
revoked or suspended already this
year according to Secretary of State
Earl Snell. Revocations and sus
pensions under the safety responsi
bility act totaled 458. Drunken driv
ing accounted for 381 of the revoca
tions. Robert H. Warrens of Forest Grove
was elected chairman of the newly
created Soil Conservation commis
sion at an organization meeting here
Saturday. Frank. Ballard of Oregon
State college was elected secretary.
Other members of the commission
include Dean Wm. A. Schoenfeld of
Oregon State college; Chas. A.
Stricklin, state engineer, and G. W.
Franklin of Enterprise. Created un
der an act of the last legislature, the
commission will cooperate with the
federal government in setting up
soil conservation districts. Two pro
posed districts have already indicat
ed an interest in the soil conserva
tion nroeram. according to Ballard.
One of these is in Tillamook county
where beach sand is blowing in bad
ly onto farm lands. The other is in
Baker county.
William Winston Churchill. 91 a
new arrival at the Oregon peniten
tiary, claims two distinctions. He is
the oldest nrisoner ever received at
the institution and he claims to be
the only living man who ever shook
hands with Abraham Lincoln. Chur
chill also claims to have been a close
friend of the James boys, notorious
Missouri bandits, and to have been
present at the funeral of Jesse James
at Liberty, Mo. Churchill was re
ceived at the Oregon prison from
Jackson county to serve a term of
three years for forgery. He has a
long prison record including terms
in the Colorado and Oklahoma pen
itentiaries.
m
The Oregon prison flax plant is
preparing to handle another normal
crop this year, L. L. Laws, manager
of the Dlant. told the Board of Con
trol this week. Laws says fields un
der contract to the state plant will
yield about 4000 tons of flax straw
this year.
Sigfrid Unander of Portland was
added to the staff of the executive
department this week as research
director. Unander will function as
executive secretary to various leg
islative interim committees and will
also do research into various public
problems under the direction of
Governor Sprague.
a
The Salem printer who inadvert
ently substituted a "g" for a "q" in
the headline announcing "Plague in
Statehouse Will Honor Ex-Governor"
wrought far better than he knew.
For it has proven to be just that, a
Heppner
plague to Secretary of State Snell,
this plaque which admirers of for
mer Governor Martin want to place
in the new capitol.
When the capitol was completed
its architects advised against the ad
dition of any embellishments other
than the murals. Yielding to the
pressure of various patriotic groups,
however, Secretary of State Snell
set aside the first floor corridor as
a "memorial hall" to which plaques
and memorial tablets were to be
confined. Three such plaques now
adorn the walls of this corridor.
Sponsors of the Martin plaque,
however, are not at all satisfied
with this arrangement. The corridor
is too dark and dismal for one thing
and too isolated for another, they
say. They want the Martin plaque
placed in a more conspicuous loca
tionpreferably in the reception
room of the governor's suite. White
house & Church, supervising archi
tects on the capitol, have advised
Snell that this request might be ac
ceded to without doing too much
violence to the building "if it does
not establish a precedent."
But that is just the rub. Snell
fears that it will set a precedent. If
the Martin plaque is hung in the
executive suite friends of other gov
ernors will insist upon the same rec
ognition for their idol until in time
the walnut panels of the reception
room will be completely hidden be
hind bronze plaques, even as the
walls of the legislative chambers in
the old capitol were cluttered up
with the horrors that passed as por
traits of former governors.
And there the situation rests. The
plaque is ready to be placed but
until the custodian of the capitol
and the plaque's sponsors can get
together on a location no plans can
be made for its dedication.
State Treasurer Walter A. Pear
son opines that it would be good
advertising for the state if an at
tractive hostess could be employed
to meet and greet visitors to the new
capitol, of whom there are several
hundred every day. Governor Spra
gue agrees with him. So also does
Secretary of State Snell. But, Secre
tary Snell points out there are no
funds out of which a hostess could
be paid. Again Governor Sprague
agrees. So also does Treasurer Pear
son. So it appears, barring the ad
vent of some philanthropist or some
patriotic group willing to shoulder
the cost, visiting tourists will have
to find their way around the new
statehouse without benefit of a
hostess as they have in the past.
Nearly $9,000,000 in unemploy
ment insurance has been paid out
to jobless workers in Oregon since
benefit payments were started 18
months ago, it was reported this
week by Unemployment Compen
sation commission.
Approval of the creation of a peo
pies utility district in Hood River
county, outside the city of Hood
River, was given by the Oregon Hydro-electric
commission this week,
Sponsors of the project told the com
mission at a hearing in Salem sev
eral weeks ago that if the district
was approved it was their plan to
purchase the distribution system- of
the Pacific Power & Light company
and to serve the city as well as the
rural areas.
FOREST FUNDS DUE
Washington, D. C, Aug. 10 Every
county in the Pacific Northwest
from which revenues are derived
by the forest service of the depart
ment of agriculture will soon re
ceive a kick-back from the govern
ment. The 20 forests in Oregon and
Washington contributed most of the
$1,785,611 which came from sale of
timber, and of the $2676 which re
sulted from sale of Christmas trees.
The states within which the forests
are situated will receive 35 per cent
of the receipts; to be apportioned
to the counties; 25 per cent goes to
school funds and 10 per cent into a
fund for construction and mainten
ance of forest roads. Secretary Wal
lace says that in some places, coun
ty returns from national forest re
ceipts amount to more per acre than
assessed taxes on similar privately
owned lands surrounding the for
ests.
Get results with G. T. want ads.
Gazette Times, Heppner,
AT 'fTHE
Washington, D. C, Aug. 10 Of
Oregon's owner-operated farms 49.8
per cent are mortgaged. Only 12
states hove a higher percentage of
mortgaged farms. Records for the
sister state, California, are identical
with the percentages in Oregon, and
Washington state having 47.7 per
cent of its owner-operated farms
carrying a plaster. Considering that
these three Pacific Coast states are
blessed with abundance of water,
unsurpassed climate, rarely cursed
with crop failure and the people
have one of the highest cultures in
the Union, the number of mortgages
is intriguing. For the entire United
States the percentage of these mort
gages is 41.5.
Farm tenancy in Oregon is 21.7
(California the same), with Wash
ington 20 per cent. Farm tenancy is
highest in the west in Idaho, 28.5 per
cent. Heavy tenancy is in the south
where the share-croppers' plight
caused the administration to launch
its Farm Security administration
through which loans are made to
tenants to purchase farms.
For the 1930-40 year, FSA has
$39,000,000 to carry on this farm
purchase program. Out of this sum,
Oregon is allocated $148,116; Wash
ington, $184,296, and Idaho $155,601.
Officials expect to make 18 loans in
Oregon, 23 in Washington and 17 in
Idaho. More than 600 loans to ten
ants will be made in Alabama, Texas,
Georgia, Mississippi. Average loan
in Oregon and Washington is ex
pected to be $8000; in Idaho $9000,
as compared with $4000 loans in
Alabama, Texas, etc. Reason: farms
in the Pacific Northwest are more
valuable.
It was a young school teacher,
member of congress but seven
months, who has saved the taxpay
ers more than 2 billion dollars. It
was his analysis of the $800,000,000
slum clearance bill that exposed the
real innards of the measure and
proved that the 800 millions was not
a self-liquidating loan but would
cost the treasury three times that
sum. This slender young chap dem
onstrated that a freshman member
of congress, without being spectac
ular, can render great service to the
nation.
Representative Albert Gore, age
31, is a farmer in Tennessee as well
as a school teacher. He showed that
while the $800,000,000 would be re
turned by the cities in a period of
60 years, at the same time the USHA
would make a contract paying the
municipalities a sum to subsidize
low rents to people who could not
afford to pay rents. In other words,
although the cities would repay the
800 million, the subsidies would so
exceed the . repayments that even
tually the government would be out
of pocket 2 billion dollars with noth
ing to show for it, not even a cop
per cent. One single speech by the
young farmer-teacher disclosed a
situation that had escaped the other
530 lawmakers.
Interest slashes by HOLC and
FHA will affect thousands of Pacif
ic Northwest property owners whose
homes have been refinanced by
HOLC or are under the insured
mortgage system of FHA. These
government agencies have reduced
interest from 5 to 4 per cent. In
terest rates prevailing in Oregon and
Washington (all types), range from
5 to 8.5 per cent, the average being
6.3 per cent.
In Oregon alone 8700 loans are
benefitted by the reduced interest
by HOLC. It is estimated that 6.7
per cent of the urban families are
paying off debts on homes through
this agency. Henceforth interest will
be saved on one-half of one per cent
on approximately $13,000,000.
Lower interest rates on every-
Oregon
thine was one of the earliest object
ives announced by President Roose
velt in 1933, and since his inaugur
ation there has been a general re
duction in the cost of borrowed
money.
There is a possibility of Willam
ette valley being included in sugar
beet acreage when the present su
gar quota expires and a new allot
ment is permitted. The large sugar
refining company, located at Nyssa,
is interested in the proposition and
has been corresponding on the sub
ject. Domestic production is now un
der rigid control by the department
of agriculture, the control extending
down to the point of designating
wages for pickers.
Efforts to develop the shipbuild
ing industry on the Columbia river
and Puget Sound have received lit
tle encouragement from the Federal
Maritime commission and it has
awarded contracts for five cargo
carriers to be constructed in south
ern California. Every proposal sug
gested for the establishing of yards
north of San Francisco bay has been
discouraged by the commission and
where there are no facilities the
commission declines to award bids.
One of the essentials of war is tin.
The administration favors exploring
the United States in the hope of de
veloping a supply. Government of
ficials say traces have been found
in Washington, Idaho, Nevada and
California all around Oregon, but
no trace in Oregon.
Politics played a large part in the
recent congress, but when something
affected the country and was not
tinged with politics, White House
and Congress were as united as Si
amese Twins-7-the 2 billion dollars
voted for national defense, as an in
stance. Although congress has adjourned,
one man's job continues. He is the
chap whose duty it is to see that all
the clocks in the capitol, senate and
house office buildings, keep run
ning and also keep time even though
no one sees them but the janitors
and charwomen.
Dehydration of Oregon grown corn
has been proved by experimental
work to be a money-saving enter
prise, says Everett Davis, exten
sion agricultural engineer at O. S. C.
Oregon at the present time imports
most of its corn, transportation
charges averaging $10 per ton. Ex
perimental results indicate that lo
cally grown corn can be dried at a
cost of only $4 to $5 per ton.
Washington, D. C, August 10 All
members of the Oregon and Wash
ington congressional delegation have
received a petition from the Wash
ington state grange asking for a law
to require a majority vote of all eli
gible voters in the United States be
fore the United States can enter an
armed conflict on foreign soil.
Professional
Directory
Heppner Blacksmith
& Machine Shop
Expert Welding and Repairing
L. H. HARLOW, Mgr.
GLENN Y. WELLS
ATTORNEY AT LAW
ATwater 4884
635 MEAD BUILDING
6th at Washington
PORTLAND. OREGON
A. D. McMurdo, M. D.
PHYSICIAN Sc SURGEON
Trained Nora Assistant
Office In Masonic Building
Heppner, Oregon
Morrow County
Abstract & Title Co.
INC.
ABSTRACTS OT TITLE
TITLE INSURANCE
Office in New Peters Building
Thursday. August 10, 1939
J. 0. Turner
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Phone 173
Hotel Heppner Building
HEPPNER, ORE.
Dr. Raymond Rice
PHYSICIAN & SURGEON
Office
First National Bank Building
Office Phone 523 House Phone 823
Heppner
Abstract Co.
J. LOGIE RICHARDSON, Mgr.
BATES SEASONABLE
Roberts Building Heppner, Ore.
P. W. Mahoney
ATTORNEY AT LAW
GENERAL INSURANCE
Heppner Hotel Building
Willow St. Entrance
J. O. Peterson
Latest Jewelry and Gift Goods
Watches - Clocks - Diamonds
Expert Watch and Jewelry
Repairing
Heppner, Oregon
Vawter Parker
ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
First National Bank Building
Dr. Richard C. Lawrence
DENTIST
Modern equipment including X-ray
for dental diagnosis
Extraction by gas anesthetic
First National Bank Ball ding
Phone 662 Heppner, Ore.
Dr. L. D. Tibbies
OSTEOPATHIC
Physician & Surgeon
FIRST NATIONAL BANK BLDG.
Rec Phone 1162 Office Phone 492
HEPPNER, OREGON
Jos. J. Nys
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Peters Building, Willow Street
Heppner, Oregon
V. R. Runnion
AUCTIONEER
Farm Sales and Livestock a Specialty
405 Jones Street, Heppner, Ore.
Phone 452
MAKE DATES AT MY EXPENSE
Frank C. Alfred
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Telephone 442
Rooms 3-4
First National Bank Building
HEPPNER, OREGON
Peterson & Peterson
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
U. S. National Bank Building
PENDLETON, OREGON ,
Practice in State and Federal Courts
Real Estate
General Line of Insurance and
Bonds
W. M. EUBANKS
Notary Pnbllo
Phone 62 lone, Ore,
Laurence Case
Mortuary
"Just the serrle wasted
wka yon wast It most"